Think Simulation! Harnessing the power of the OLI Engine

OLI Simulation Conference 2010

ScaleChem to ScaleAnalyzer

Evolving software to meet changing industry needs

Outline

• Brief explanation of ScaleChem

• Evolving needs of Upstream Market

• Production engineering is much more complicated

• Development of a ScaleAnalyzer consortia

• Goals and practical limits

• ScaleAnalyzer Feature-Function-Benefit list

• How it compares to ScaleChem

• Limits

• Practical problems and future ideas

ScaleChem – 1995 to 2015?

• First “Windows” software from OLI

• Developed through an industry consortium

• Harnessed the “State-of-art” electrolyte chemistry to predict mineral scaling

ScaleChem logic is straightforward

• Use building blocks to solve problems

• Independent Building Blocks

Water stream

Oil stream

Gas stream

• Solutions

Combine streams to create whole fluid

Use Whole fluid to predict scale

We think this is a sound approach

ScaleChem’s engineering purview is also simple

• Single Zone production

• Two water-mixing

• Reservoir Saturation

• Basic Facilities (process Simulator)

Problem: Production is no longer simple e.g., TFE’s Girassol Project

• 23 producing wells

• 17 injection wells

• 14 water

• 3 gas

• 3 Riser-towers

http://www.ogj.com/index/article-display/21729/articles/oil-gas-journal/volume-96/issue-29/in-this-issue/drilling/elf-unveils-girassol-field-development-plan.html

A long way from single-well, single-zone producers

Can ScaleChem model this? Yes, with difficulty. The goal is to create software that can address scaling on these assets in a simple & clear approach, without creating user anxiety and uncertainty.

How to meet evolving industry needs

• First, agree to move out of the ScaleChem platform & into Analyzer

• ScaleChem has old programming technology & limited (non-updatable) functionality

• Analyzer has MSE, a larger database, & access to other software

• Next, gather field experts

• Make list of needs

• Create a review committee

• Third, create the project scope

• Agree upon application capabilities

• Set software specifications

Goals (taken from 2007 Upstream tools presentation)

• Make the application visual; what to be done is intuitive

• Make data entry look like the fluid analysis reports

• Minimize the “number of clicks”

• Expose the items that are used 90% of the time

• Hide other items in menus or specs…

• Enter data and view results on one-screen

• Increase scenario options by adding more calculation screens (simple screens, more of them)

Example – we need to go from this to something like this

Confusing – no hierarchy More organized

A real client ScaleChem case. It took two hours to understand the thought process and calculation links

List of Agreed Scope items

Category Difficulty Importance

XML to import unreadable file formats V. High HIGH

Kinetics for Redox Med HIGH

Downhole wizard High HIGH

Edit Redox couples High MED

Excel translator High MED

Kinetic framework High MED

API version 7 for Hydrocarbons High MED

Import/Export Unisim Low MED

Provide a Terse Report Med MED

Solids Saturation - with any inflow Low MED

Complete Reservoir-to-Surface Saturator Med LOW

Adjust 2+ Mixing stream Med LOW

UI editor for kinetics Med LOW

Saturate gas / oil / water by entering ratios or flows V. High LOW

Expand plots variable list Low LOW

Add labels (plot results using labels instead of value) Low LOW

Contour plots V. High LOW

Pseudocomponent critical property editor High LOW

Saturate HC, gas or liquid with the produced water Med LOW

So, does the completed scope translate to modeling this?

Category Difficulty Importance

XML to import unreadable file formats V. High HIGH

Kinetics for Redox Med HIGH

Downhole wizard High HIGH

Edit Redox couples High MED

Excel translator High MED

Kinetic framework High MED

API version 7 for Hydrocarbons High MED

Import/Export Unisim Low MED

Provide a Terse Report Med MED

Solids Saturation - with any inflow Low MED

Complete Reservoir-to-Surface Saturator Med LOW

Adjust 2+ Mixing stream Med LOW

UI editor for kinetics Med LOW

Saturate gas / oil / water by entering ratios or flows V. High LOW

Expand plots variable list Low LOW

Add labels (plot results using labels instead of value) Low LOW

Contour plots V. High LOW

Pseudocomponent critical property editor High LOW

Saturate HC, gas or liquid with the produced water Med LOW

Partly. No software can be applied perfectly and still be broad-based

All-purpose software product? ExcelTM is all-purpose. Do we want that.

• Differing Target audience

• Power-users (production specialists)

• New users

• Strong Chemistry knowledge

• Little chemistry knowledge

• Application needs

• Keep simple for simple calculations

• Allow flexibility for complex process calculations

We are serving many masters – to be effective we limit choices

Result – ScaleAnalyzer

Feature-Function list

• Keep the Building Block approach

• Water, oil, gas streams – expanded the chemistry

• Add more process options

• Mix multiple streams

• Link mixers to create a process

Enable phase separation

• Add more chemistry options

• Saturate phases with multiple components

H2O, VFA*, CO2, H2S, etc.

• Improve Data presentation

• Contour plots

• Formatted reports

• More graphing flexibility

* VFA=volatile fatty acid; formic, acetic, propanoic, butanoic, etc.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS

How will the new software support the engineer/scientist work in predicting mineral scaling?

Reservoir Saturation Goal: saturate gas and water at reservoir conditions

ScaleChem approach

• Straightforward

• Saturate gas with pure H2O

• Convoluted but better

• Create Saturation Block, Add gas & brine and calculate

• Manually adjust inflow chemistry of each stream till concentrations match

• Takes about 25 manual iterations to complete

ScaleAnalyzer Approach

• Straightforward

• Saturate gas with aH2O, aCO2, aH2S, and aVFA

Single completion, multiple zone Goal: Combine gas-water sources from multiple zones into a single process

ScaleChem Approach ScaleAnalyzer Approach

• Visual Facilities Calculator

http://www.phoenix-sw.com/PMTx_software.html

• Facilities Calculation

• Straightforward but no graphic support

Make Duplicate

1 2 3

5

4 6

Input ST Mass SI 6 5 4 3 2 1

Loc 1 of 8

Regen MEG mixing at wellhead Goal: predict scale when stream diluted with a high pH regen MEG stream

ScaleChem Approach

• Use Aqueous Framework

• Limits to MEG concentration in liquid

ScaleAnalyzer Approach

• Use MSE Framework

• No limits to MEG additions

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0 20 40 60 80 100

w%

CO

2

w% MEG

predict, t=25C, p=1 atm

prediction, t=25C, m NaCl=0.1

prediction, t=25C, m NaCl=0.5

prediction, t=25C, m NaCl=0.7

Hayduk 1971, t=25 C, p=1 atm

Kobe 1949, t=25C, p=1 atm

Won 1981, t=25C, p=1 atm

Oyevaar 1989, t=25 C, p=1 atm

Beyseda 1985, t=23.95C, p=1atm

Solubility Envelopes Common reference tools for production operations

ScaleChem Approach

• Run Scale Scenario

• Set Initial & Final T

• Fix P

• Set steps

• Calculate

• Transport and transpose data to Excel

• Repeat same Calc at a different P

• Do multiple times

ScaleAnalyzer Approach

• Run a T-P survey

• Plot results

What is not resolved

This is a process. How do we create it without a process simulator?

ScaleAnalyzer V1.0 will still be limited. But it is the first step to a more evolved, goal-oriented software

Last Slide!

• Industry is evolving and so are client needs

• We are working to keep up with the changing needs

• Approach to creating ScaleAnalyzer is via user opinion

• Final product will be a more robust and applicable tool